Soldier On
by EllaNight
Summary: Prompt: "Castle is a soldier and after 3 years of being apart he comes home. Of course, Beckett doesn't know about it and he surprises her at the precinct." AU Caskett reunion.
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt: Castle is a soldier and after 3 years of being apart he comes home. Of course, Beckett doesn't know about it and he surprises her at the precinct.**

 _I cried_

 _Never gonna hold the hand of another guy_

 _Too young for him they told her_

 _Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier_

 _Our love will never end_

 _Waitin' for the soldier to come back again_

 _Never more to be alone when the letter says_

 _A soldier's coming home_

 _-Travelling Soldier Dixie Chicks_

* * *

She's come to dread Sundays. The entire weekend, come to think of it, because despite her usually being on call or off duty, it's the only time she can expect definite radio silence. Castle rarely gets the chance to use the phone lines to make a call nor does he often find himself near any area that has an internet connection, let alone Wi-Fi. They've shared the occasional Skype call and the sound of his voice through the speaker had unexpectedly brought her to tears last month, worrying him. It had him making promises that he'd make it back which had her tears coming even faster, telling him he couldn't make those kinds of promises anymore.

She cherishes the moments she gets to hear his voice.

Every two or three days however, since the day he set foot on foreign ground, she can expect a letter, something in the written form that he has sent to her from across the world. But there is no post on Sundays and so she knows for a fact that she won't be receiving any letter from him.

She definitely hates Sundays.

The last three years have been difficult on them. He was called away to serve his country in Afghanistan. Being a cop, Kate always thought he'd be the one who would constantly fear she might not come home. But over the past few years, she has been the one plagued with nightmares of receiving a star-spangled banner flag whenever she hears a knock at the loft's door.

He'd signed up in the military telling her she had been the one to inspire him. He wanted to give back to the world in some way. She'd told him that he _was_ making a difference through his writing but it hadn't been enough for him. She'd supported him through his military training and seeing the joy it brought him to feel like he could be of service was worth it.

That was until they got the three a.m. phone call, the one that tore him away from her and put him directly in the crosshairs of military grade artillery.

Today marks three years.

And God, she _misses_ her husband, wishes more than anything that he could just come home.

The letters he's sent her have brought her such joy, kept her hoping and set her heart alight with the knowledge that he was still out there, still fighting to come home to her. Just like before they even met, his words have been keeping her afloat, carrying on and making it through each day to ensure that on the day that he did make it home, she would be there.

He would make it home. He had to.

It is Sunday and although she happens to be off duty this week, she is at the precinct, working on some extra paperwork given the fact that they don't have any active cases. Gates knows better than to say anything that would even merely suggest she should go home. Kate doesn't want to be home.

Their home is lonely without him, it's silent and she craves loud, she yearns for his booming presence and waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee on her day off. So no, Kate isn't going home.

She sits behind her desk and types away at one of Ryan's forms regarding a case he's been assisting the robbery department with. The Ryan's have invited her to many dinners over the years and Jenny has told her numerous times how much she appreciates how Kate helps Kevin, how she takes some of his workload so that he can be home more often with their children, Sarah-Grace and Nicolas-Javier. He deserves to be home with his family.

Kate is typing the report when she hears the familiar voices of her team behind her. She turns around to find Ryan and Esposito heading towards her, bright smiles adorning their features, like they know something she doesn't.

She doesn't like it. Anything those two are hiding can't be good.

She levels them with a stare that speaks "spill it". Expo's smile only widens and, okay, now she's really worried.

"What are you doing here, Beckett? It's Sunday, shouldn't you be enjoying your day off or something?" He asks smugly.

"You know, I was working on both of your paperwork files but if you'd rather take over I could always hit the gym or something?" She retorts, raising a lone eyebrow suggesting they should be thanking her rather than nagging her about her habits.

Neither one of them answers her. "What?" She asks, almost incredulously and why are they even here on a Sunday?

And suddenly Kate becomes hyper-aware of the hush that has taken over the homicide floor, the lone sounds of the coffee machine and computer engines running. She notices both the guys are looking past her and over her shoulder, their smiles as broad as she thinks she's ever seen them and for some reason her heart lurches in her throat. She's afraid of what she'll see if she turns around, or more precisely, _who_ she might _not_ see now that her mind has been filled with possibility.

Her palms are sweating, her heart beating erratically in her chest, her throat aches and she can feel the hairs at the back of her neck standing on end. Kate closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, it can't-

"You know, I was thinking maybe you could skip the gym and go straight for the long bath instead."

It's him.

Her body whips around and he's there.

He's home.

"Castle."

Her chest burns within her chest and before he can say another word she's running the few steps to him and wrapping her arms around him.

His smell engulfs her, the smell of his clean laundry and aftershave, the smell she would surround herself with on nights she couldn't sleep, craving the warmth of his arms. The thought has her squeezing him even tighter, burying her nose in his collar, her hands at the back of his head, her fingers in the locks of his hair and she can't help the broken sob that wracks through her frame at the relief of holding him in her arms.

She feels him shaking as he inhales within his arms, his arms tight around her as he sweeps his arms up and down the column of her spine. Her ears are buzzing and nothing exists outside of them in this moment. She realizes she hasn't been breathing, not since she took that first intake of breath that smelled like him, smelled like home and now her lungs ache. She lets out a puff of air from her lungs against his throat and she feels him nuzzle her neck, his fingers playing with the loose tendrils of her loose hair.

"I'm home, love," he whispers quietly, for her ears only and it's those words she needed to escape the trance in which she's been. She pulls back but only slightly, only the space that is absolutely necessary for her to see his face.

"Castle," she whispers his name again, not believing that he's really here and he's looking at her as if she holds the universe in her hands. Suddenly she needs to taste him, she's forgotten what it feels like to have his lips against hers and she can't spend another second no longer remembering what it feels like.

She surges forward and catches his lips with hers and _God_ , it has her hips rolling forward, a surge of arousal like she hasn't felt in three years, her skin on fire, everywhere they are touching, connected in some way, a source of white, hot oblivion. Kate whimpers as she feels his hands raise, one lightly framing the angle of her cheek and the other supporting the base of her skull, slipping through the curls of her hair.

His tongue tentatively trails her bottom lip as if he feels like he needs to ask her permission and she needs to remedy that, she needs him to know that there is nothing she wants more than him, than the feel of him as close as humanly possible. It isn't until her lungs are burning once again from the lack of oxygen that Kate registers the claps and wolf whistles that surround them. Castle pulls his lips away from hers on a laugh but just barely, still looking at her with such love in his eyes, still close enough for this moment to be just them. Kate smiles back at him and closes her eyes.

He's home.

She feels his lips on her skin, touching each cheek, her nose, her forehead, as if he needs to stay connected to her too. She exhales and lets herself melt against him, lets her head fall against the wall of his chest, her arms coming to hang on tightly around his torso, her eyes closing on silent tears.

His arms are still around her, one around her waist and the other on her head as if cradling her to him.

He's looking beyond her at the rest of the precinct, everyone still clapping and calling his name, congratulating him, and welcoming him back. Kate opens her eyes and spots Ryan and Esposito in her line of site. They smile at her, and she returns it in full, silently thanking them. She isn't sure why, doesn't know if it's for taking care of her while Rick was gone or for being here in this moment.

Kate feels him kiss the top of her head and she squeezes her arms tighter around him, letting him know she is still here, not certain whether she's reminding him or herself that they are finally together. She isn't going anywhere and she hopes he isn't either. They haven't talked and she doesn't know if he's here to stay, but she doesn't let these thoughts plague her mind. She hasn't been this happy in the last three years.

He's home.

* * *

 **A/N: A big thank you to Nellie for reading over this fic and helping me fix it up! There will be 2 more chapters to this. Also, thank you to CastleFanficPrompts on Tumblr for sharing this lovely idea. I would love to hear what you all think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I consider this chapter to have a strong T rating**

* * *

She loves everyone at the precinct, she really does, but she loves Castle more and she really just needs to be with her husband right now. Kate still has one arm wrapped around his waist and he hasn't let go of her either, his arm always draping around her shoulders, toying with her hair or running up and down her back. She's hyper aware of every touch, every point of contact setting her on edge and her body is brimming with want.

She hasn't been with her husband in three years, and her body is suddenly very aware that he has returned, always in tune with his. She can feel his desperation as well. It's manifestation in the soft clench of his hand bunching up around the material of her shirt at her waist every minute or so. Or in the nervous tap of his right foot against the floor when he seems to be finished answering everyone's endless stream of questions regarding his tour but then L.T shows up and asks a recap of everything.

He's been very patient, shaking hands with everyone from the floor who welcomed him back and answering every question thrown his way.

Yes, his tour is over.

No, he won't be getting called back.

Yes, he was injured but obviously he's still here, so nothing fatal.

That one gets to her even though she knew about the gunshot wound he sustained to the leg. It was only a graze, he'd assured her when he'd gotten to call her that night, but it still had her crying in her pillow long after he'd had to hang up and eliciting nightmares of him bleeding out somewhere in the desert alone.

But he's here, he's home.

The questions seem to go on forever.

He's always been good with crowds. But she can sense his eagerness to go home. She's ready for him to be home too.

Kate rests the hand that isn't clutching at his waist on his chest and it has him looking down at her, and apology on his lips.

That isn't what she wants at all, he has nothing to be upset about, nothing to be sorry for, so she wipes any trace of his unnecessary apology with the brush of her lips to his and they pull away, both smiling at each other. Kate breaks eye contact to look over at everyone in the bullpen.

"Sorry everyone, but I'm stealing this one for the rest of the night," she tells them by way of bidding them all goodnight.

"Only for the night? Why, Detective Beckett, I had no idea you were so-" he chirps from beside her but she doesn't let him finish, choosing instead to shut him up with a kiss. It was always the most effective method of stopping his running mouth.

"Hush, you. Or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight." It was a threat she had not even the slightest intention of acting upon. And he knew it.

"There isn't an iota of chance that I will be sleeping anywhere but in our bed, with you tonight, Kate," he tells her, his voice gravelly and low, only for her to hear. It has heat shooting straight to her abdomen and she can feel her face flushing with arousal.

They need to get out of here. Now.

Esposito and Ryan seem to sense their urgency to leave and have the courtesy to redirect everyone's attention towards Sunday brunch.

Sunday brunch is the furthest thing from her mind.

Unless it involves Castle, maybe some strawberries and maple syrup, the real one from Canada and-

God, she needs them to be home now.

Kate takes advantage of the boy's distraction and grabs Castle's hand.

"Let's go," she whispers in his ear before tugging him towards the elevator. They nearly make it, she's got two steps before she reaches the button when-

"Mr. Castle," she hears the sharp voice of Captain Gates and it has the both of them freezing in their shoes.

"You still know how to put on quite the show, I see; still disrupting the entirety of my homicide floor with one little visit."

Neither of them is quite sure how to respond. Kate finds her blood simmering with aggravation. She just got her husband back, after three _years_ and that woman, captain of the precinct or not, has the audacity-

"Welcome back," she tells him, a hint of a smile lifting a the corner of her lips.

They both stand there, a little dumbfounded but ready to turn around because she really needs them to _go-_

"Oh, and Detective Beckett?"

Could someone please just cut them a break and let them head home already? "Yes, Sir?" Beckett answers dutifully, if a tad annoyed.

"I trust you'll be taking some of those vacation days you've been saving up? I don't expect to see you back here in at least three days."

Okay, so maybe she was a little fast the judge. The woman does have a heart.

"Thank you, Sir." She gives her boss a curt nod, sees Castle do the same and then he's looking down at her with a smile that has her heart stuttering like all sorts of fireworks.

She tugs on his hand again and they make a beeline for the elevator. No more interruptions. Kate practically stabs the elevator button with her thumb, and why isn't it on their floor yet? She hits the button again.

She can feel Castle at her back, his body completely aligned with hers in all the right places and a chuckle rumbles through him as he kisses the top of her head. It takes all of her willpower not to make him pay for that by rolling her hips back into his.

"Not funny," she tells him, hitting the elevator button for a third time.

"I know, Kate," and she can feel his impatience as well as her own as his hands run up and down her sides. "I have the car service waiting for us in front."

She hears the distinctive ding of the elevator and Kate nearly jumps out of her skin.

God, she is so on edge.

They board the elevator and as soon as the doors slide closed, he is on her, his hands reaching for her face as he pushes them back into the side wall of the box. His tongue slides into her mouth at the moan she releases when her back hits the wall, her hands reaching for the material of his shirt at his sides and bringing him closer, closer, closer.

Every nerve ending of her body is on fire and they _cannot_ get this worked up in the elevator, not when she knows the have the entire ride home to suffer through and she doesn't want to scar the driver but, oh, it feels so good.

She can't stop, won't.

Not when his lips are trailing a wet line of fire down her throat and his hands are making their way under the hem of loose shirt and all she wants, all she needs is for their damn clothes to be out of the way.

She needs the feel of his hands on her body, needs the heat of his skin on hers, and she never wants to quench the fire licking at her bones, never wants this to end.

"Kate," he's chanting her name at the juncture of her neck and collarbone and it has her hips bucking into his just as she feels his knee slipping beneath her thighs.

"Yes, Castle," she moans and _God_ , she hasn't been this close with so little foreplay since their first time together and this kind of feels like their first time all over again.

Except this time he knows her, even after three years apart, he knows her body and what she needs and how the scrape of his teeth right _there_ has her hips rocking forward, seeking friction from his thigh.

She's right there and she just-

She barely registers the ding of the elevator and the doors opening, but Castle does and part of her is grateful to him for saving her reputation and giving her some space but she also kind of wants to jump him right here for everyone to see because she was so damn close, and he's home and she needs him.

They need to get home.

Now.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Not gonna to lie, this turned into a shameless excuse for smut. Sorry, not sorry. I hope you enjoy! Note the change in rating to M.**

* * *

Kate clings to him once they are in the town car. She knows he probably finds it odd because it's not her, Kate Beckett does not cling, but she just-

God, she's missed him so much and part of her doesn't even believe that he's home even though he's said it over a dozen times. So she holds on to his arm with both of hers and rests her head on his shoulder. The very definition, in the literal sense, of clinging. Kate feels the tears stinging behind her eyes and she hides her face in his shirt. She feels his hand squeeze her thigh in reassurance because it's him and of course he knows when she's being emotional.

"I can't believe you're home," she confesses. "It feels like a dream, like at any moment I'm going to wake up in our bed, alone and you'll still be half way across the world and I'll still have to wait for your letters and I-" she's rambling and she hadn't realized until he stops the steady stream of words spilling from her mouth with the touch of his index beneath her chin, directing her eyes up to his.

"I know, Kate. I honestly never thought I'd be gone for three years and I know it's been hard on you. Hell, too many times to count, I found myself wishing that gunshot wound to my leg would have been more serious so that they'd let me come back to you. I wanted to come home to you more than anything, Kate." He pauses, as if looking for any trace of doubt in her eyes. "And now that I am, nothing will take me away again, not even another tour, you have to believe me." The sincerity pouring out of his eyes has her throat closing up and she does, she does believe him, because if he's missed her half as much as she has, she knows he's suffered enough.

"I know," she tells him when she can muster a breath through her clogged throat. "I love you so much, Castle. I believe you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I'm here to stay, I promise," he tells her softly, looking directly into her eyes and cradling her head between his broad hands. She feels safe within his hands. She also doesn't miss the endearment he let slip but today she doesn't mind so much. Doesn't mind at all, really.

"I believe you, Rick. I think maybe when I see you in our home, in the loft, it'll sink in a little more," she assures him with a soft smile. He looks at her, his smile wide and shakes his head.

"God, I missed you," he says and reaches down to touch her lips to his. She sighs into the kiss, and allows his tongue in to briefly tangle with hers but she pulls away quickly, not wanting to get as carried away as they did in the elevator. They are _not_ teenagers. They can hold out for another five minutes before they reach the loft and refrain from scarring their driver.

He groans when she pulls away, his eyes still closed so he doesn't see it coming, doesn't have time to brace himself when she suddenly hits him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" He exclaims and rubs at his shoulder and the top of his upper arm, his lower lip sticking out as he pouts at her.

"That was for not telling me you were coming home. You can't have learned yesterday that your tour was over. You should have warned me or called me as soon as you knew," she tells him, a half-hearted glare even though she kind of loves that he surprised her at the precinct. She might be a sap today but he doesn't need to know that she appreciated the surprise.

He chuckles despite her apparently ineffective glare, a grin lifting his lips upward and kisses the tip of her nose causing her face to scrunch up in that adorable way he loves.

"Okay, so maybe I deserved that because I know you hate surprises, but I _hadn't_ known for a long time and I didn't… I guess I didn't want to jinx it in some way?" He finishes, almost a little ashamed. "Those last few days were as dangerous as any and anything still could have happened, Kate, I just didn't want to get your hopes up in case-"

"We don't have to worry about that now. You made it," she tells him, her voice firm and affirming, reassuring them both. They don't need to worry about anything anymore. He's safe.

She's about to resettle her head on his shoulder but she feels the car's momentum come to a stop.

They're home.

* * *

They're a tangle of limbs as they exit the elevator on the loft's floor. Kate is in his arms, her thighs clamped around his midsection, gyrating her body into his as much as she can without sending them crashing onto the floor of the hall. Their mouths are fused together and she doesn't know where she ends and Rick begins, she just needs to feel him, all of him and God she can _feel_ how much he wants her.

One of Castle's hands stays on her thigh, steadying her, but the other is in her hair, angling her head so as to gain better access to her mouth, the column of her throat, her collar bone. Kate feels her back hit the back of the door and this really is turning into their first night together, except this time they stand outside the loft and where are her goddamn keys so that they can get _in_ already.

It's not the only thing she wants in.

Kate chuckles at the horrible play on words her mind conjured up and she almost wants to share it with him but it would take too long and they don't have time and, keys, she needs her keys.

"What?" he asks, wanting to know what made her laugh. All the while his lips trail down her collarbone, nipping at the stretch of bone and Kate sucks in a sharp breath through her teeth, clamping her legs tighter around him as he soothes the bite with his tongue, laving over it and heading south with his mouth and _oh, yes, yes-_

They need to get past that door.

Kate pulls his face up with both her hands so that their eyes meet, "Nothing, I just want you so much," she tells him, pulling his bottom lip between her teeth.

"God, you are the sexiest thing I have ever seen," he practically growls and pushes her harder into the door and she can feel her panties are soaked through, first from the elevator in the precinct and now this and she needs friction, more friction that her work pants are just not allowing, she needs his fingers, his tongue, _him_ , anything to stoke the fire already raging inside her.

She whimpers at the loss as Rick gives her a smidgen of space, allowing her to untangle her legs from around his waist.

"Open the door so I can ravish you like you deserve," he whispers in her ear and it has her blood boiling, her fingertips tingling and she turns around facing the door with the intention of fitting the key within the lock. She hadn't realized how difficult a feat it would be to accomplish with his body molded to her back and her backside instinctually driving back into his hips.

Kate can't help the moan that escapes when she feels his hands span the expanse of her ribs and up to her chest, his face buried in her neck, in her hair, kissing and sucking at her throat. For the life of her, she can't remember where she keeps her damn key and she can feel how hard he is against her, how the length of him is - probably painfully - straining through his pants. He palms both her breasts from behind her and she's not even pretending to be looking for her keys anymore, her eyes have closed of their own volition and her head is lolling back against the juncture of his neck and collarbone, and she hisses because, yes, _yes_ she needs friction and she needs her bra to be out of the way so she can feel the heat of his hands on her.

"Rick, _please_ ," the breathless request escapes her lips and she doesn't know whether she's begging for release or for them to find a way into the loft. Probably the former. _Oh_ , definitely, the former.

His right hand abandons her breast and she whimpers at the loss of contact but she feels his hips move forward and it's consolation enough.

She realizes he was getting his key from the back pocket of his pants, probably in his wallet but she really doesn't care as long as that key can get them into their home and their bedroom and on their soft Egyptian cotton sheets. She hears the key turn in the lock and the door gives way and they are both tumbling through the threshold and she means to turn around; give him a proper "welcome home kiss" but as soon as their shoes have been kicked off in the general direction of the closet, Kate can only seem to focus on getting them to bed.

She grabs hold of his hand and tugs him to the right.

"Think you can remember where our bedroom is?" She asks him, looking back at him with a smile that could only be described as teasing.

He whirls her around so that she is facing him again, his eyes dark and possessive in a way that has her insides clenching, her toes curling.

"Katherine Beckett, if you think for one second I didn't fantasize about you in our bedroom every damn single night I was away, I think some punishing is in order."

"Only if said punishing is to be done naked," she tells him playing along, her eyes light as she bites her lip.

He growls, "That is a definite yes to naked punishing but not tonight. Tonight I need all of you."

Kate practically mewls, reaching for him as his words always leave her mouth parched, a thirst only his lips can assuage.

They slowly make it the rest of the way to the bedroom, through his office and she feels the back of her calves hitting the edge of the mattress as he walks her backward. She already has half his button down untied and he lost the jacket somewhere between the front door and the office.

Castle is pulling the silk blouse up her body and she instinctively lifts her arms to accommodate losing the shirt. His lips seem to be aiming to reach every inch of skin that has been revealed by the loss of her blouse and she loves it, loves the fire he paints on her skin, a canvas of red and orange and yellow hues bathing her in warmth. But it's distracting because she needs to get his shirt off and now he's working on her bra and suddenly her breasts are free and all hope for progress evaporates on her part. He's sitting on the edge of the mattress and he pulls her in closer by the waist, one hand staying there while the other gently trails up, up, up, the front of her body. And then she's lost in the feel of his mouth, his hands, branding the skin of her breasts.

"God, yes, Castle," she moans and she knows he's lost in her too because he doesn't even have the presence of mind to nag her about her religious slip. He nips with his teeth and circles his tongue against her nipple, and yes, _yes_ , like that, Rick.

And she thinks maybe if he continues just like that she might come just from the attention he pays to her breasts but he seems to have other plans as he unhooks the button of her dress pants and pulls them down the length of her legs.

Kate moans as he palms her through her panties, his mouth still attached to her breast and there is no way he doesn't feel how unbelievably wet she is for him.

He quickly has her stepping out of her panties and his mouth starts to travel lower, stopping for a few licks around her navel but continuing south and all she can do is hold on to his hair as her hips gravitate towards the enticing warmth of his mouth. She's completely bare before him and he still has his shirt and pants but he's everywhere at once and she's lost the ability to compartmentalize and multitask.

And then he's turning her around so that her back hits the mattress when he guides her down and he only follows halfway when she pushes her body towards the top of the bed, his face level with her midsection.

"Rick," she gasps his name as his lips slowly kiss their way up to the apex of her thighs, punctuating every kiss with what sounds like a mumbled "I missed you" and he pushes her hips down into the mattress to keep her steady. "I missed you too, I missed you so much, Castle."

He growls like he's on a mission and then white light bursts behind her eyes as he finally, _finally_ , has his mouth on her. Kate moans as he flicks his tongue out to circle her clit, and it takes only a few strokes, just like that, he still knows just the way she likes it, combined with the vibration of his humming to have her - _oh_ _god_ \- entire body burning, writhing and calling out his name on a whispered plea. And then she's falling, so good, so warm, so sated, right over the edge. He rides her through it, gently licking and stroking until it's too much and not enough and she still needs him. She lightly tugs on his hair, pulling him up towards her and how the _hell_ , is he still fully dressed?

Her voice is already hoarse from her unrestrained sounds of pleasure, and she has to clear her throat before speaking.

"Get naked. Now."

Castle laughs and kisses her. She lifts up into the kiss, needing more, always more whenever he is concerned, tasting her own flavor on his lips until he breaks away. "Yes, ma'am." He answers with a smile. As soon as he's lost the shirt and pants, Kate has recovered enough to reach out and cup him through his boxers. His eyes slam shut immediately and she feels his breath coming faster as her hands venture past the waistband and she holds him firmly in her hand.

"Kate, God, I love you," he tells her between groans of pleasure as she moves her hand up and down the length of him, occasionally circling his tip with her thumb. They are both kneeling on the bed but her other hand manages to pull the boxers down to his knees. She lets him go for a second, allows him to get free from the restraining garment and then he's pulling her to him, still on his knees in the middle of the bed and he sits back on his ankles. Kate moves forward and braces her hands on his shoulders, lifting herself up, aligning herself with him.

She opens her eyes, having closed them, lost in the haze of pure bliss, when she feels the palm of his hand on her cheek. She looks down at him and they are both smiling, "I love you," she tells him just as she sinks down and takes him inside of her for the first time in three years. Twin moans resound through their bedroom and Kate takes a moment to let her body adjust, to get accustomed to his size again. He's gentle, patient, and he nuzzles his nose against her neck, kissing her collarbone here and there and his hands roam up and down her sides. _Oh_ , she forgot how broad his hands are, how they practically dwarf her but are so very smooth in the pursuit of her body's pleasure. She doesn't know if her memories did them -him- justice because they just feel so good, _so_ _good_ together.

Slowly she starts to undulate her hips, rising up and taking him in again. They are so close together, she loves that she can feel every part of him respond to her body.

"Castle," she moans his name when he twists his hips upward to meet hers. And then they work together, their bodies almost dancing as they gravitate towards each other and she buries her fingers in his hair, her head thrown back as he continues to lave her neck with kisses that will most probably mar her skin for days to come. She doesn't care. She wants the world to know that he's home and he's hers.

And then he shifts just right from under her and it sandwiches her nerves just right and the heat is all encompassing and-

"Let go, Kate. You're so beautiful, just let go," he tells her and it's the pressure on her nerves and the feel of him inside her and his voice in her ear, his lips on her neck that have her body wracking in a violent cry as she shatters around him, raw, unadulterated pleasure zipping through every fiber in her body. She feels him let go inside her and he groans, holding on to her, his arms tightly wound around her waist and her back as his own release overtakes him.

"That was the most amazing thing I have felt in three years, Kate," he tells her, his arms still loosely twined around her, his lips still pressing soft kisses to her skin.

"Me too," she confesses, laying her head against the top of his, her fingers still brushing through his hair.

Castle slowly brings them down so that they are lying in bed facing each other, their bodies both sated but smiling broadly.

"I'm so glad you're home," she confesses softly, her eyes stinging bright with emotion.

"Me too, Kate," he tells her, brushing his thumb across the soft plane of her cheek. "Me too."

* * *

 **A/N: I'd love to know what you think! Thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, followed and reviewed this story, your support means a lot to me. Also, Nellie's fangirling over this gives me life. She's the best cheerleader!**


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